Piano industry estimates in 2015 that more
than one million pianos were sold, only 50,000 or so new.
That means that only one piano in 20 was new. The rest were used being sold by private parties, and the resurgence of the
American piano builders, the piano industry no one seems to know about. The
return of the true craftsman in the form of the new piano re-builders, who
make a piano better than new for a modest investment, here's the answer to
the perplexing question, of how to buy a really good quality piano for a
reasonable cost. A new grand piano of decent quality will run around
$25,000, or you can buy a great used grand have it rebuilt and
refinished, and the truth is you'll wind up with a far superior
instrument for about half the cost. A quality grand piano
completely rebuilt and refinished by experts who do their work
just a little bit better than perfect IS better than new. It's
almost as though your instrument becomes a hand crafted, true
one-of-a-kind, collectors dream. In this case the old instrument
is not only less money but better in many respects. Better
materials, better workmanship, because now you have a master
craftsman rebuilding this piano the way pianos were supposed to
be built one-at-a-time.

Several factors contribute to the used piano
market. One is the high price of new pianos, whose manufacture is
questionable compared to the lower and lower prices of electronic
entertainment devices televisions, VCRs, and electronic keyboards. Another
is the growing pool of skilled piano technicians who are rebuilding and
reconditioning pianos, and efforts fueled by the bad reputation earned by
the junk import piano makers of the last two decades. A hundred years ago
there were literally hundreds of piano makers in the United States, and even
twenty five years ago there were at least a dozen major firms, now only a
few remain, five having ceased production in the first half of the 1980s
alone. Some of the ones that remain are able to hold on only because they
have diversified to other products that subsidize their meager piano sales.
Consumer interest in the piano seems to remain vibrant. If only the industry
could create an instrument that would render past models obsolete in the
minds of the buying public.

If a
piano brand is not currently being manufactured, it is usually not being
promoted to the public through advertising, media and other efforts that
increase it's reputation and recognition. The amount of advertising
dollars spent on promoting a piano to the public by both the manufacturer
and the dealer has an impact on the used values of pianos of the same
brand name. If the piano manufacturer does not spend a lot of money
promoting the brand recognition, then usually this will decrease the value
of the piano. These prices are based upon the
U.S. Market and U.S. dollars. It is common to find that many European
made pianos, that are very well promoted and recognized in Europe, have
significantly lower resale values in the U.S. because the brands are not
promoted or well represented by dealers in the U.S. Market. Also, there
are recently established manufactures in places like China, Belarus,
Indonesia, that have simply not been around long enough to have a solid
market recognition in the U.S. Market.

Part of the
value of a used piano is based by the opinion of the technicians who
servicing them. If a piano hasn't had at least 20 years of
service history with technician's in the U.S., it is basically considered
a newcomer. It takes about 20 years of service history to begin to
predict issues like durability. If a piano lacks that service history,
then when it is time to resell it, the seller may find that technicians discourage
potential buyers from buying it either because of a poor service history or a
lack of service history. This makes it necessary for the seller to lower
the price in order compensate for the perceived risk the buyer is taking in
buying the piano when it may have inside
problems.

A piano is a precision engineered
musical instrument but it is also a piece of furniture. There are furniture
styles that affect the popularity of a
piano. If a particular style is not considered desirable by most buyers, it may be difficult to sell without
refinishing or modifying the cabinet style. Usually traditional finishes
such as ebony, walnut, mahogany have always been in fashion throughout the
ages, despite furniture trends. And specialty cabin. It is the colors like
white or ivory that seem to go in and out of fashion the most. There was
also an era when pianos were painted (not
usually by the manufacturer but by the owner) and these pianos are
way out of fashion today.

Over the past 50 years some nine million new pianos have been sold in the
United States. Given the longevity of most pianos, it is reasonable to
assume that a large percentage of those nine million instruments are still
in service out there somewhere. From a high in 1979 of 275,600 units, piano
sales slid to 98,778 units in 1994. This precipitous decline has prompted
serious soul-searching at all levels of the piano industry. The truth is
many of these used pianos have not been used in many years and in some cases are
"like new" with some TLC will out perform most imports.

Piano Sales from 1987 to
1991

Source

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

Total Market

216,193

209,361

181,845

179,635

168,260

Verticals

141,293

128,761

94,871

95,635

81,204

Digitals

41,200

46,500

53,100

54,900

57,500

Grand Pianos

33,700

34,100

33,874

29,100

29,556

Piano Sales from 1997 to
2006

Sales of
existing homes dropped
9 percent to
6.4 million
units in 2006, versus sales of 7.1 million in 2005. The drop in the sale
of new homes was even greater, sinking 21 percent to just over 1 million
units, compared with 1.28
million in
2005. These numbers help explain the significant sales decline In all
piano categories. Grand unit sales dropped 23.5 percent verticals were
off 17.9 percent; player equipped units fell 19,4 percent; and even
digitals dropped 132 percent. Fewer people buying new homes or moving
apparently translated into fewer piano sales. Although it
provides
little
comfort to piano makers and retailers, it’s worth noting that
manufacturers of furniture and home
appliances blamed their disappointing
sales results on the housing
slowdown.

Assessing the
sales data by country of origin, size and price point, it’s clear that
the slowdown affected every segment of the market. Lower price points
generally suffered a steeper decline, but every category shred
double-digit declines.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW CHARTS:

HISTORICALLY:

Given the fact that pianos don't wear out, used pianos
have been a factor in the market for over a century; however, in the past
decade the influence of used pianos has steadily grown. The chart below
illustrates that between 1950 and 1979 new piano sales closely tracked
household formation. Declines posted in 1970 and 1975 reflected recession
problems, and the surge in 1965 was the result of the baby boom generation
approaching lesson-taking age. How then to explain the halving of household
penetration between 1979 and 1985. A look at historical production levels
offers some telling insights.

Acoustic Piano Sales: 1975-98 (units)

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208,429

1987 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169,100

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237,092

1988 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141,697

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247,446

1989 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126,317

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262,920

1990 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111,928

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255,039

1991 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106,941

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212,849

1992 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102,882

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209,876

1993 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99,721

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191,319

1994 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98,778

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187,965

1995 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98,229

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174,341

1996 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84,356

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147,487

1997 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94,709

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163,100

1998 . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106,759

Note.–Includes sales of domestically produced and imported
pianos.Source: For 1975-87,
National Piano Manufacturers Association and industry estimates; for 1988-98, The Music Trades, April 1994 and
April 1999 issues."1990 Consumer
Information Guide"

The number of new pianos sold in the United
States (including imports) peaked in 1978 at over 282 thousand, by 1985 only
a little more than 150 thousand were sold. A survey sponsored by the
American Music Conference and carried out by the Gallup Poll Organization
reports that amateur piano playing is as widespread as it has ever been, and
extrapolations from the survey suggest that nearly two million U.S.
households bought a piano in 1984.

The first thing a buyer usually discovers when looking
for a piano, is that the prices are usually not fixed, they are negotiable.
The piano "sale" is still an event used to motivate purchases on the spot,
but most buyers take more time to make their decision. And that time taken
will show them that prices are not what they at first seem. Something
usually tips the buyer off to this fact. Buyers may call a store and ask
for prices over the phone, only to be told that prices are only given to
buyers in person. Or they may receive one price over the phone and another
when they walk in the door. A buyer may find that none of the pianos are
marked by price. A salesperson may drop the price on a piano to motivate
the buyer to close the sale today.

Pianos hold their value well, in fact well
enough that many piano dealers I know have for many years, guaranteed to buy
a piano back, or take it on trade at 70% of its original purchase price for
3 years after purchase. Long-term dependable pianos may cost a little more,
but your money is safer, and the musicians in your home will be more
inspired.

Most people pay too much for old pianos; the
as-is value of old pianos is actually quite low. Unfortunately however, a
naive buyer may see new pianos for $4,000 and think an old piano they see
privately for $800, is a bargain. In reality they will probably pay $600 too
much, particularly if it requires thousands of dollars worth of work.
There is no reason why a piano buyer or shopper should pay to have a
piano technician inspect a new or used piano. No matter how many books that
are written piano technicians for piano technicians or would be piano
salespeople. The very simple rule to follow is:

Before buying any
piano NEW OR USED is to see it and play it and:

IT MUST BE IN TUNE - IT IS THE
SELLERS RESPONSIBILITY TO HAVE THE PIANO IN TUNE - IF IT IS NOT IN
TUNE PASS ON IT - IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TUNED RECENTLY BY A PIANO
TUNER AND THE SELLER MUST PRESENT A TUNING CERTIFICATE WITH
NOTATIONS OF ANY REPAIRS NEEDED. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY A TUNER TO
FIND OUT IF IT IS IN GOOD CONDITION.

THE PIANO TUNERS RECEIPT IS A FORM OF A
WARRANTY AND IS ACCEPTED IN ANY COURT AS THE REPRESENTATION OF THAT
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT (AND DOUBLY SO IF YOU ARE BUYING A NEW PIANO).
AVOID ANY PIANO THAT YOU CANNOT SEE AND HEAR. THE SELLER SHOULD AND
MUST HAVE THE PIANO TUNED BEFORE THE SALE. APPLY THIS RULE TO ANY
PIANO YOU WANT TO BUY. AND IF YOU ARE SELLING, A TUNED PIANO WILL
SELL FASTER AND FOR MORE THAN ANY PIANO NOT IN TUNE.

Do not think that pianos age like
violins and guitars. Unlike violins and guitars, the strings in a
piano create literally tons of stress which takes its toll on
soundboards, bridges, and pin-blocks, aging a piano far more quickly
than other strung instruments. Moreover, there is nothing between your
fingers and the strings of a violin or guitar, but when you play a
piano, you express yourself through a very complicated machine which
like any machine wears out as it is used.

Many parents think any old piano will do for
their children starting out. If these parents knew as much about pianos as
they do bicycles they would realize that their children were about to go on
a bike with flat tires, a bent frame, and twisted wheels.

If you find a younger piano, bear in mind
that even if you have been very lucky and found an instrument in excellent
condition, it would cost at least $400-$700 to put it in a similar condition
to one you'll find at a reputable dealer showroom floor. Unfortunately most
older pianos require far more expensive repair.

If a piano passes a common sense test i.e:
the price is right and it does not seem to have been abused; and it is in
tune - If you fall in love with the cabinet charm and craftsmanship of
an older piano, then it is something like falling in love with a beautiful
turn-of-the-century home.

The cost of restoration is certainly
worthwhile, but it will make the home (piano) far more expensive then most
new or newer homes (pianos). It is true that many old pianos were
wonderfully made, and happily their technology has not evolved in a hundred
years, so components are still readily available, and in the hands of a good
re-builder an old piano can be made new again. Yes, they are better pianos
than any of the current Japanese, Korean, Chinese or Indonesian new piano of
today - and don't let anyone tell you different.

Many advertisements in the paper which
appear to be private people selling pianos are really dealers, and they are
usually selling dubious pianos with inadequate work performed. Remember
they've already deceived you once with a misleading ad. When a buyer discovers that the prices are negotiable,
this makes things more complicated for them. After all, what price
should they really pay for the piano they want? How do they know what is fair? What is included in the
price?

Because
of the large time span covered, this guide is also intended for those who
are buying a used piano who wish to know something about the quality of a
used piano of long ago.

You are
shopping for and interested in buying a piano, and that you share some of
the questions and problems similar to other piano buyers. Any advice
we give
you about buying a piano, is really based upon opinion and experience.
This Guide was created as a tool to help you do things on your own. It does
require more than just looking up a piano price in the guide and asking the
dealer to give you a piano for the low price listed for that model. I
recommend that you read everything on this page before using the guide.
This will help you understand the context for the prices offered and give
you suggestions as to how to use this information.

Today'spianomarketisfloodedwithdozensofbrand names pianoscomingfromcountriesliketheU.S.,
Austria,
Germany,
Czechoslovakia,
Korea,
Japan,
Indonesia,
ChinaandRussia.
Withsomanymodelsandpricepointsofferingdifferentfeaturesfordifferentsegmentsofthepublic,
itisimpossibletogeneralizethequalityofonebrandoveranother.
Although it is important for you to be happy with a beautiful-looking
instrument, don'tletitbethedecidingfactorinpurchasingafinequalitymusicalinstrument.
Letthequalityofconstruction,
thetoneandthefeelofthekeyboardbethefinaljudge. Plan to spend plenty of time browsing on
several trips, and promise yourself you won't make a decision before you see
as many pianos as possible. Visit as many reputable piano retailers as are
available to you.

Play as many
pianos as possible, from the best to the worst, just to get an idea of the
differences in touch and tone. You can learn a lot about what you like by
playing pianos that either you can't afford, or that are too poor in quality
for you. After you have narrowed your choice down to about 2 or 3 pianos
whose tone, touch and appearance appeal to you, negotiate a price with the
salesperson. Every piano should come with a bench and at least one free
tuning. You can usually knock 10 to 20 percent off the price tag if you are
willing to walk away and think about it, or go to another dealer.

When shopping for a piano you'll
find that dealers don't want to give you price information over the phone.
They expect you to come into the store and hear a sales presentation before
prices are given. If you know what pianos cost this can make it very
difficult when you want to buy. Most buyers want a general idea of the
marketplace before they go out shopping because it helps them to make the
larger scale decisions like: "How much money do I want to spend?" and
"What will I get for what I pay?". If you buy a tip sheet, a piano book
will give you a good understanding of what is available for sale and how
much it might cost on the high and low side. Based on someone else's
opinion. But don't expect anyone to tell you the truth that doesn't have
their hand out.

If you have already been out
shopping, you may have found that each dealer has their own "List Price" for
their pianos and there often is no consistent information available to you
that will help you know what is a fair price for a particular piano. No two
dealers are alike, and no two markets are alike. One dealer may mark their
piano list price up considerably higher than another so that when they
discount the price, it seems that you are getting a much better deal.

Competition at the Retail Level

Since most of the dealers in the United
States offer a variety of models in both domestically produced and imported pianos, manufacturers
often compete at the same dealership. The reduction in the number of retail outlets combined with a
growing variety of pianos sold has increased competition at dealerships across the country. Many dealers
sell both new and used pianos. An industry representative noted that prices advertised on used pianos
often serve as a leader to entice customers into the store and provide the
opportunity to sell them a new piano.

In the late 1980s, new methods of retailing,
called “event sales” and “academic sales” were introduced. These methods were designed to
remove excess inventories. The event sales take place at locations such as an armory, stadium parking
lot, or hotel ballroom.

Academic sales take place at a college or university that advertises the
sale of its used pianos in the local newspaper. The prestige of the academic establishment’s music department is
used to sell instruments that have been at the department for varying lengths of time. New pianos are also
brought to colleges and universities for these sales. Piano companies were
allowed to use the University’s letterhead on specific occasions and obtain alumni mailing
lists. Alumni are often inclined to buy pianos on these
occasions and are willing to pay relatively high prices because they believe that their purchases will
benefit the institutions. Although this type of sale was originally designed to remove excess inventories, it has
become a more regular method of marketing for certain U.S. producers and importers based on cooperation
between the piano manufacturer or dealer and the academic institution.

"They are all fighting for a piece of the pie on the sales floor.” We
currently live in an era of "warehouse" clubs and large chain discounters.
This mentality is carrying over into the way people think about all consumer
purchases, whether large or small, simple or complex.

Sam's Club is a membership-only warehouse club owned and operated by Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc.
The first Sam's Club opened in April 1983 in Midwest City, Oklahoma in the
United States.
Sam's Club is named after Sam Walton. A division of Wal-Mart announced that it
would stock a Kohler & Campbell grand piano in each of its 300 stores, a
number of keyboard retailers were justifiably concerned. It would appear that while the giant discounter can
move immense quantities of consumer goods but not Grand Pianos. "With only one
model, and a reasonable price, We think they actually might help business by
putting the idea of grand piano ownership into the minds of the millions of
consumers who receive the catalog and visit the store each day. It is certainly
presents the piano in a more positive light than a lot of the blow-out armory
sales and university promotions the industry has been running."

A Kohler &
Campbell grand piano graced the cover of its Christmas catalog, which is mailed
to 8 million, and a 1/2 page ad within the publication describes the instrument,
although the name is spelled incorrectly as Kohler & Campbell.
Priced at $5,450, the 5'1" Kohler & Campbell Grand Piano at SAM'S Club
was
competitively priced, but certainly not at a level dramatically below many
specialized keyboard dealers.

The first thing a buyer usually
discovers when looking for a piano, is that the prices are usually not fixed,
they are negotiable. The piano "sale" is still an event used to motivate
purchases on the spot, but most buyers take more time to make their decision.
And that time taken will show them that prices are not what they at first
seem. Something usually tips the buyer off to this fact. Buyers
may call a store and ask for prices over the phone, only to be told that
prices are only given to buyers in person. Or they may receive one price over
the phone and another when they walk in the door. A buyer may find that
none of the pianos are marked by price. A salesperson may drop the price
on a piano to motivate the buyer to close the sale today.

This is what makes piano
pricing in the US a complete jungle, i.e. the lack of control
that manufacturers have on the pricing by the distributors and dealers in
the US.
Retail pricing is the
responsibility of the dealer.
No two dealers are alike, and no two
markets are alike and many starting retail prices are set by individual
dealers. Prices will vary from dealer to dealer with local economic
conditions. Discounts of 20 to 25% are normal. One dealer may mark their piano
list price up considerably higher than another so that when they discount
the price, it seems that you are getting a much better deal. Simply say
to the dealer "Show me an invoice of a piano sold for the regular price". It
simply cannot be done, because it does not exist.

There are laws that prohibit the making, or the permitting of the making, of
any materially false or misleading representation, to the public, as to the
ordinary selling price of a product, in any form whatever. The ordinary
selling price is determined by using one of two tests: either a substantial
volume of the product was sold at that price or a higher price, within a
reasonable period of time (volume test); or the product was offered
for sale, in good faith, for a substantial period of time at that price or a
higher price (time test).

In the event that the represented ordinary price refers to the
ordinary price of suppliers in the market, unless these
suppliers have sold a substantial volume of the product at the represented
ordinary price, or alternatively, these suppliers have offered the product for
sale in good faith at the represented ordinary price, this price can not be
referenced as the ordinary price.

In the event that the represented ordinary price refers to the
supplier's ordinary price, unless the supplier has sold a
substantial volume of the products at the represented ordinary price, or
alternatively, the supplier has offered the product for sale in good faith at
the represented ordinary price, this price can not be referenced as the
ordinary price.

If manufacturers were to make public
"Manufacturer Maximum Selling Prices" - as is the case in Europe - there
would be no way the dealer could first mark up these and thereafter apply a
discount. The end user price would then vary somewhat from dealer to dealer
but would be determined by what discount the difference between wholesale
and that 'recommended max. selling price', and legal constrictions would be
possible for any particular dealer.

None
of our published price guides profess to provide anything more than a
general reflection of marketplace conditions compiled just prior to
publication. The more sources you consult, the more informed your buying or
selling decisions will be. It's really as simple as that! Just keep in mind
that these are only guides, and that there really is no substitute for
experience. There is wisdom in a multitude of council.